Muzaffarnagar: Eight sugar mills in the district have cleared sugarcane payments of Rs 1,206.91 crore out of total dues of Rs 1,645.97 crore to farmers in the current season, an official said. The mills purchased 51.5 lakh tonnes of sugarcane from farmers till February 11 this season against 46.2 lakh tonnes in the year-ago period, the district cane officer said.

The district administration is trying to get clear all the dues of farmers, the official added. The state government has raised the sugarcane price by Rs10 to Rs 315 per quintal for 2017-18 season that started in October. According to the Indian Sugar Mills Association, as many as 119 sugar mills in the state produced 54.48 lakh tonnes of sugar till January 31 in the current season.